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Can I disable iCloud backup of my desktop and documents without erasing all of those items?

I am new to mac and using a brand new iMac with macOS Catalina.


Just a couple weeks in I've started seeing "Out of Space" errors below files and folders in Finder which was a bit surprising as I have barely touched my hard drive capacity. Digging around I discovered that it's actually iCloud that's full.


I tried going into preferences and unchecking the checkbox for iCloud syncing my desktop and documents. When I unchecked the box I got:


"If you continue, items will be removed ..."


I have to erase my desktop and documents or else I have to pay for a subscription to make these warnings go away?


Another way to look at this is this:


In the regular course of using my machine I exceeded 5 GB (Less than half a percent of my 2TB drive space) and because of this mistake, I am now faced with three choices:


  1. Ignore tons of warnings from the operating system
  2. Pay for an iCloud plan
  3. Erase the entirety of my desktop and documents and then recover it again from a service I've never used.


This is a bizarre design. It feels like a slimy tactic to get new users onboarded to iCloud. A user's desktop and documents will quickly exceed 5GB, I'd expect. These are not contacts, calendars, reminders, etc. which are tiny.


Is there truly no option to turn off iCloud syncing to my desktop and documents that does not erase those desktop and documents? I've already exceeded the 5GB limit of iCloud or I wouldn't be experiencing this, so what happens to all those items that exceeded the storage capacity after I erase everything? Surely they can't be all backed up to iCloud.


If erasing is the only option here, then I don't think it's right to have this feature enabled by default. It deserves a warning when you try to enable it: "Are you sure you want to enable iCloud syncing for desktop and documents? You will not be able to change your mind later or control what gets uploaded, unless you completely erase all your desktop and documents on this computer." I think that warning would make a lot of people realize they don't actually want iCloud enabled on their desktop and documents because they know they'll exceed the free usage limit. Instead, it's enabled by default and users have to discover the hard way that disabling it is no easy task and it's a process that can result in data loss.

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on May 11, 2020 6:10 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 11, 2020 6:24 PM

The following from Add your Desktop and Documents files to iCloud Drive - Apple Support

may help:


When you turn off Desktop & Documents Folders, your files stay in iCloud Drive and a new Desktop and Documents folder is created on your Mac in the home folder. You can move files from iCloud Drive to your Mac as you need them, or select all of your files and drag them to the place you want to keep them.


  1. From your Mac, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences. Click Apple ID, then click iCloud. On macOS Mojave or earlier, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click iCloud.
  2. Next to iCloud Drive, click Options.
  3. Deselect Desktop & Documents Folders.
  4. Click Done.


If you turn off iCloud Drive or sign out of iCloud, you have the option to keep a local copy of your files that are in iCloud Drive. Whether you decide to keep a local copy or not, a new Desktop and Documents folder is created in your home folder. If you

choose to keep a local copy, your files in iCloud Drive are copied to a folder called iCloud Drive (Archive) in your home folder. Then you have the option to move any files that were in your iCloud Desktop and Documents, back to your new local Desktop and Documents.



Similar questions

1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

May 11, 2020 6:24 PM in response to GuyThreepwood

The following from Add your Desktop and Documents files to iCloud Drive - Apple Support

may help:


When you turn off Desktop & Documents Folders, your files stay in iCloud Drive and a new Desktop and Documents folder is created on your Mac in the home folder. You can move files from iCloud Drive to your Mac as you need them, or select all of your files and drag them to the place you want to keep them.


  1. From your Mac, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences. Click Apple ID, then click iCloud. On macOS Mojave or earlier, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click iCloud.
  2. Next to iCloud Drive, click Options.
  3. Deselect Desktop & Documents Folders.
  4. Click Done.


If you turn off iCloud Drive or sign out of iCloud, you have the option to keep a local copy of your files that are in iCloud Drive. Whether you decide to keep a local copy or not, a new Desktop and Documents folder is created in your home folder. If you

choose to keep a local copy, your files in iCloud Drive are copied to a folder called iCloud Drive (Archive) in your home folder. Then you have the option to move any files that were in your iCloud Desktop and Documents, back to your new local Desktop and Documents.



Can I disable iCloud backup of my desktop and documents without erasing all of those items?

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